Chapter 1
*A/N: Firstly, I want to thank you all for coming on this journey with me. Thank you for taking the time to indulge me with your thoughts and emotions as you watch Axle and Luke’s story unfold with their friends and family. If you made it this far, buckle up. There’s more crazy to come!*
ROMAN POV
I sat behind my desk, nursing a glass of one of my finest whiskeys as I listened to Chort, my personal assistant, giving me closing updates regarding the casino and a few of my other businesses. I was going to be out of town for a while; Alpha Luke's mate Melanie just had a baby girl and Pogo and I were taking Penny, our daughter, to meet her.
I wanted to ensure that the week we planned to stay at the pack wouldn’t be plagued by work interruptions. I knew removing my father and taking his seat of power wasn’t going to be a walk in the park by any means. But the sheer magnitude of all the pies he had a finger in was initially overwhelming.
He’d been involved in things I had no knowledge of and was slowly finding out about. For months after he died, it was nothing but headache after headache, dumpster fire after dumpster fire. But between me, Pogo and Chort, we managed to get things somewhat streamlined and under control.
“Oh, I almost forgot to mention,” Chort spoke up, interrupting my train of thought as he glanced up from his notepad. “Tomorrow is August 28th.”
I waited for a beat to see if he would explain but he remained silent.
“And? I have a calendar, Chort. I can track the days just fine.”
“As I was reviewing your father’s years-worth of meticulously kept personal planners, I came across a standing appointment on the 28th of August going back years. Almost two decades, in fact,” Chort explained. “It only shows the initials R.B. with a time of 2200. There’s no other information to say what it’s about.”
“Is there contact information to reschedule? I was hoping to leave tomorrow morning,” I ground out, unable to keep my irritation in check much longer. Before I even finished speaking, Chort was already shaking his head.
“No, sire. It looks as if this appointment has been predetermined between the two of them with no details logged anywhere else. I did manage to back trace Mr. Santos’ movements over the last year and learned that the meeting takes place here in the casino, but there’s nothing else I could find.”
I could see the irritation weighing on Chort’s tense shoulders. He hated delivering results that were anything less than absolute perfection. I let out a long sigh through my nose as I sat back in my chair, sipping more of the deliciously expensive amber liquid and savoring the burn as it flowed down my throat.
What have you gotten me into now, Father?
*****************
Pogo and Penny were disappointed as I sent them off ahead of me this morning after breakfast, but I reassured them I would be there by breakfast the next day, if not sooner.
Penny’s disappointment didn’t last for long as she was too excited to meet Zara, her self-proclaimed life-long best friend despite the fact the baby was only a few days old.
I grinned, shaking my head at her antics as she listed off all the things they would do together when she arrived. I hugged her tightly before securing her in her car seat, tightening the straps with care.
With one last kiss to her forehead, I straightened and closed the door. I turned to Pogo and I could see the concern etched across his brow.
“I don’t like this, Roman,” he said softly, so as not to be overheard by our daughter.
I wrapped my arms around his waist, trying to comfort him as best I could. He was a mountain of a man in his human form, and even larger when he shifted to his bear. He didn’t give off the same heat as a werewolf shifter, but he was warm enough to chase the chill of loneliness trying to creep in, even when he was still here.
I knew it would only be a day’s separation at most, but since Penny was brought into our home, the three of us hadn’t spent more than an hour apart. I was restless to send them away without me, but something in my gut told me this was the safest option for them.
I didn’t know what I was going to be walking into, didn’t know how dangerous this man could be, and I didn’t want the only two people on this earth that I love to be caught in the crossfire in case things went south.
I pushed up onto my toes and pressed my lips to his in a soft, warm kiss, using that tender affection to convey everything I couldn’t find words for. He seemed to understand as his strong arms came around me, melting into the kiss like the romantic sap he is.
I pulled back just enough to press my forehead to his. I whispered, “I don’t like this any more than you do, probably less honestly. But there’s no way to cancel it. I have to take this meeting and then I’ll be on the road right behind you. I promise.”
Pogo nodded with a forced smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. One more tender peck to my lips and he slid gracefully behind the wheel. He rolled Penny’s window down in the back and she waved her sticky fingers at me, already digging into her ‘road trip snacks’ she just had to have.
I grinned at them as they drove away. I couldn’t help it. I just love them both so much. If you’d asked me a year ago if this is how I saw my life turning out, I would have laughed in your face. But here I am, the picture of domesticity, waving like an idiot until their taillights disappeared into the morning light.
As I sat at my desk missing my family, the intercom beeped at me, letting me know Chort would be arriving shortly. I straightened my posture, keeping to my seat. Whoever this man was, he couldn’t be more powerful than me. Of that, I was certain.
Two swift knocks sounded on the door. After I shouted, “Enter!" the door swung open to reveal Chort in his impeccable three-piece suit and shined shoes, followed by an older woman in a floral print dress and low heels.
Her gray curls were silky and perfectly displayed without a strand out of place, and she clung to a champagne-colored handbag as she followed two steps behind him.
Manners dictated I stand in the presence of a lady, and I found myself rising before I even realized what I was doing.
“Mr. Santos, this is Elena Flos. She’s here for the meeting,” Chort introduced her with a flourish.
Elena Flos. Then why were the initials next to the appointment R.B.?
Before I could think too hard about it, she was already approaching me with her lace-gloved hand extended towards me. She was obviously a woman from old money, her posture and accent screaming socialite of the highest class.
I gave her hand a small squeeze before gesturing her to the chair across from me. “Good evening, Mrs. Flos-”
“Elena, please,” she interrupted me with a polite smile.
I studied her for a moment. She seemed completely at ease in the presence of a demon, which was unheard of. Even Axle, a United States Marine and arguably one of the strongest Alpha wolves I know, kept a wary distance from me for the longest time.
Without trying to be obvious about it, I sniffed the air around her. Definitely a werewolf. It was hard to know how old she was exactly, but she still carried herself with grace and poise so I would guess she had to be an elder.
“Condolences regarding your father,” she said in that quiet posh way. “Since you have assumed control of his...investments...then you have the required information for me?”
She was being careful with her wording, and it was glaringly obvious.
“Actually, since taking control of my father’s empire, there have been some significant changes. Contracts I’ve considered dropping,” I hinted not-so-subtly at her. Her shoulders tensed just a fraction, but enough for me to notice.
“If this is about altering the form of payment, I’d be more than happy to discuss that. But your father and I have been doing business for the better part of twenty years with no issue. What can we do to ensure that doesn’t change?” she asked politely, if a bit rigid.
“What is it that my father did for you?” I asked, cutting through all the pretense. “What kind of information are you asking for?”
She opened the expensive handbag on her lap and pulled out a stack of documents. “I was afraid this might happen, so I brought our original contract,” she explained.
She passed it to me and stood without waiting for me to read it. “I’ll be back in a week. Same time. Don’t disappoint me,” she warned. It was like getting scolded by your grandmother, but with a serious undercurrent of dread should you fail. Without another word, she walked out of my office.
I sat back in the stunned silence. What in the actual fuck was that?
